FAQs

Who may apply for a grant?

Any public charitable organizations recognized as such by the Internal Revenue Service under IRC section 501(c)(3), and under sections 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) may apply for a grant.

ORF accepts grant applications only from Madison, Wisconsin area/Dane County.

What is the grant application deadline?

Grants may be submitted at any time throughout the year.

When are grant decisions made?

ORF reviews grant applications several times throughout the year.

• If you do not qualify under the guidelines, you will be notified by phone or letter immediately.
  
• A grant may receive tentative approval upon review of additional information by the ORF board, or subcommittee, but the grant may ultimately be denied.
  
• If your grant application is approved, you will be notified immediately in writing of the grant amount, number of payments and expected payment date(s). The ORF board, or subcommittee, may approve a grant with a change to the grant amount or timing of the award to meet ORF financial obligations.
  

What types of projects qualify for grant consideration?

The primary mission of the ORF is to provide funding to organizations for both programs or building projects that will positively impact human lives with primary focus on:

• Education
  
• Health Care
  
• Human Services/Community Welfare
  
• Research
  

What types of projects are excluded?

ORF generally does not provide funding for:

• Grants to individuals
  
• Raffle tickets, door prizes or table sponsorships
  
• Youth/adult sports programs and school activities such as teams, booster clubs, golf outings, extracurricular activities
  
• Endowments
  
• Political action committees or lobbying efforts
  
• Organizations not granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
  
• Arts organizations, generally
  

How does our organization apply for a grant?

If your organization qualifies under an ORF focus area, you may submit a Letter of Inquiry to the ORF electronically or by standard mail to Oscar Rennebohm Foundation Inc. P. O. Box 5187 Madison WI 53705-0187.The Letter of Inquiry must include basic information about your organization and your program, project or campaign.

The Letter should, at minimum, include the name(s) of the program or project leader(s) and contact information, goal, budget estimate, projected timeline, audience served or benefiting, any previous grant funding, project costs, and projected timeline.

ORF may ask for an in-person or phone interview or a site visit to gather additional information, which will be included with the Letter of Inquiry for review when ORF makes its final decision.

Who can I contact with questions?

If you have questions about the grant process or whether your organization or project is eligible, click here to submit your questions. Please include contact information. You will receive a prompt response via phone or email.

For detailed information on grant guidelines and the application process, visit our funding requirements and how to apply pages.